Tender and poignant, “Can't We Be Friends?” is one of my favorites of the “torch song” genre. It was introduced in the 1929 Broadway musical, “Little Show,” and was the first big hit for composer, Kay Swift, with lyricist Paul James. They scored another big hit the following year with “Can This Be Love?” in the Broadway musical “Fine and Dandy.”
LYRICS
I thought I'd found the man of my dreams,
now it seems this is how the story ends,
He's going to turn me down
and say 'Can't we be friends?'
I thought for once it couldn't go wrong,
not for long, I can see the way this ends,
He's going to turn me down
and say 'Can't we be friends?'
Never again, through with love,
through with men,
They play their game without shame
and who's to blame?
I thought I'd found a man I could trust,
what a bust, this is how the story ends,
He's going to turn me down
and say 'Can't we be friends?'
Following the success of their first hit song, “I Can't Give You Anything But Love”, from Lew Leslie’s “Blackbirds of 1928”, the songwriting team of Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields wrote this classic song the following year. It was introduced in another Lew Leslie show, “International Revue”, sung by Harry Richman.
LYRICS
Grab your coat and get your hat,
leave your worry on the doorstep
Just direct your feet
to the sunny side of the street
Can't you hear a pitter-pat
and that happy tune on your beat
Life can be so sweet
on the sunny side of the street
I used to walk in the shade
with those blues on parade
but now I'm not afraid
This Rover crossed over
If I never have a cent,
I'll be rich as Rockefeller
Gold dust at my feet,
on the sunny side of the street.
“On the Sunny Side of the Street”
(Dorothy Fields/Jimmy McHugh)
1930
“Can’t We Be Friends?”
(Paul James/Kay Swift)
1929